Locket construction



March 13, I1951 E, s. DONLE 2,545,267

LocxE'r CONSTRUCTION Filed VJune 28. 1'947 Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITE-o STATES PATENT IEdwin .S.J)onle, Edgewood, It. :1.,:assignor vto Coro, Inc., a ycorporation of Rhode-.Island Application June 28, 1947,"SerialNo. 1,757,856

The present invention relates .to -the .jewelry art, and hasparticular reference .toa-locket construction having a plurality of ornament compartments.

iThe Iprincipal .obj ect of the invention `-isftouprpvide a very thin locket suitable for use as a pendant and having a number of compartments adapted to receive ornaments or photographs, the compartments nesting together in very compact relation.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a locket having nesting compartments with novel manually releasable catch and latch parts, the latch part being formed as a pendant ring.

A further object is to provide the folding compartments with spring members which operate to open the locket and its compartments when the latch is manually moved to open position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a 'locl'ret of the described type which has a minithe locket being closed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the locket of Fig. 1, the locketbeing open; y

Fig. 3 is an enlarged central vertical section through Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view showing the relative spacing of the parts;

Fig. 5 is any enlarged sectional detail, parts being broken away, showing the preferred pres-` sure spring mounting; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the catch and latch parts.

It has been found desirable to provide a locket of very thin construction which is suitable for use as a pendant, the locket containing a number of compartments which nest together when `the locket is folded and closed. It is preferred to position the compartments so that they open into separated relation under the influence of pressure springs, and to form the pendant ring as a, latch member which cooperates with a catch element on the locket cover to releasably lock the compartments within the locket body. To this end, I form the locket body as a hingedly 1 Claim. (01.6.3--199 connected ibase zand @co cover finspacedrelat'ion whereby they r'nest within the locket Ibodyf'when 'folded :and provide tpresesure springs which continually urge the compartments to unfolded position, whereby the pressure springs completely unfold the locket when the catch and latch arrangementis released. I further provide a catch element on the cover and a latch element on the base which is pivotally mounted and includes an eccentrically positioned latch for providing a strong closing and holding action when it is manually turned to engage the. catch element.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred constructional embodiment of the invention, the locket Ill includes a base I I and a cover I2 which are hingedly connected together by a hinge I3. A compartment I4 is joined to the base by a hinge I5, and a compartmentV I6 is joined to the cover by a hinge I1, the hinges beingangularly displaced as shown in Figs. 4 and 2 to permit folding the compartment I4 into the base and the compartment I6 into the cover.

The compartments, base and cover are preferably slightly recessed or cupped, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to receive suitable ornaments such as photographs, which may be snapped in or retained in place by snap or spring bezels I8 of standard type. The compartment hinges I5 and I'I each include an end roll I9 on the base and cover and a center roll '20 on the compartments, and a hinge pin 2I, the central roll 20 being of larger diameter than the hinge pin to accom-modate the central portion 22 of a pressure spring 23, one end 24 of the pressure spring extending between the contiguous end roll and the central roll to engage the back of the compartment, and the other end 25 being wedged in. place to lock beneath the other end roll, whereby a continuous opening pressure is exerted on vthe compartments.

The preferred catch and latch arrangement is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6, and includes a catch element 26 projecting upwardly fromthe cover and slightly curved to provide a transverse catch rib 21, and a manually movable latch member 28 which has a loop 29` through which a chain may be passed, two spaced lower arms, 30 which are at substantially right angles to the loop portion and are hinged to a roll 3| which'is an integral part of the base, a transverse barg closing the lower end of the loop 29, and a latch element 33 which is preferably slightly angular with respect to the loop and has a. depending part 34 adapted ver, vand :hingedly :secure- -additional v,compartments y:to the ?base :and 'the to extend over the catch element 26 when the locket is closed, and to swing over the catch element 26 and releasably lock the locket parts together when the loop is swung forwardly. The angular relation of the latch element permits the depending latch part 34 to slide over and seat to the loop pivot beneath the transverse catch rib 21, as shown in Fig. 3, while the loop remains in Y vertical relation to the -locket body` It is thus clear'thatthe locket includes a base and a cover, and compartments which have concealed pressure springs urging the compartments, and therefore the base and cover as well, to open position, the catch and latch elements rmly locking the folded parts in closed ,.position, and the latch element having a pendant loop.

Although I have described a specific constructional embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that changes in the size, shape and proportions of the parts-and in the pressure spring and the catch and latch parts, may be made to meet the requirements for different'locket designs, withoutl departing from the spirit and the scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claim.

loop and having their ends inturned and seated in the hinge roll, a transverse bar closing the,y lower end of the loop, and a latch element on the Y transverse bar depending to swing over the catch member and into the catch member rib when the latch member is turned to engage the catch member.

EDWIN S. DONLE.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PTENTS Name Date Number Mark Jan. 2, 1940 

